Implementation walkthrough
How to implement ISO 39001: video walkthrough
A walkthrough of implementing an ISO 39001 road traffic safety management system for organisations that put vehicles and people on the road.
Key takeaways
- ISO 39001 aims to reduce death and serious injury from road traffic crashes.
- It rests on the Safe System approach.
- Organisations distinguish what they control from what they influence.
- RTS performance factors shape objectives and plans.
- Crash investigation turns incidents into evidence for improvement.
Reducing death and serious injury on the road
ISO 39001 is the international standard for road traffic safety management systems, developed by ISO/TC 241. It specifies the requirements for a management system that enables an organisation which interacts with the road traffic system to reduce death and serious injury from the road traffic crashes it can influence. It rests on the Safe System approach: a clear focus on road traffic safety results, evidence-based action, and the long-term aim of eliminating death and serious injury rather than merely complying with traffic law.
It is written for public and private organisations alike, from a delivery fleet to a road authority. The practical question is what an organisation puts on the road every day and what it knows about it. This short film walks through how the system is implemented.
The system comes first, then the audit
Fix the boundary of the certificate: the sites, activities, vehicle classes, drivers and contractors in scope, and the parties who will rely on it. A gap analysis then compares current road safety arrangements with the standard, keeps what works and agrees actions with owners and dates.
Implementation sets out the organisation's role in the road traffic system, what it can control and what it can only influence, and selects the road traffic safety performance factors that matter to it, from exposure and vehicle and driver factors to the journeys themselves, with objectives and plans built on them. Coordination across the functions that affect road safety, emergency preparedness and response, and the investigation of crashes and incidents follow, so that evidence drives improvement. The system has to run on the road before an independent, accredited certification body can assess it and decide.
Sterling's expert and experienced consultants support preparation and implementation with your team under Sterling OS™, with the data held in Effivity. ISO 39001:2012 with Amendment 1:2024 is the current edition, and a revision is in progress.
ISO 39001 at a glance
- Purpose
- Road traffic safety management: reducing, and ultimately eliminating, death and serious injury from road traffic crashes the organisation can influence
- Relevant to
- Any public or private organisation that interacts with the road traffic system: fleets, logistics, passenger transport, contractors, platforms and road authorities
- Edition
- ISO 39001:2012 with Amendment 1:2024; a revision is in progress at working-draft stage, with no publication date announced
- Certification
- Assessed and decided by an independent, accredited certification body
- Sterling's role
- Consulting with your team, Effivity, training, internal audit and certification readiness, then Sustain™
- Cost and timing
- Total investment for an ISO 39001 RTS management system depends on the current maturity of your processes, the scope, locations and number of employees. The process typically takes 4 to 8 months
ISO 39001: questions people ask
Is ISO 39001 only for transport companies?
No. The standard is written for any public or private organisation that interacts with the road traffic system. A contractor whose engineers drive to sites, a sales fleet, a food distributor, a platform whose riders deliver on motorcycles and a municipality that operates roads all have exposure they can measure and factors they can influence.
We already hold ISO 45001. Why would we add ISO 39001?
ISO 45001 protects your workers, and driving at work is one of its hazards. ISO 39001 is about death and serious injury from road traffic crashes you can influence, including crashes involving other road users, and it asks for things an OH&S system does not: performance factors built on exposure and outcome data, objectives with targets and action plans, and crash investigation as a requirement in its own right. The two share a clause structure and integrate well.
Does ISO 39001 cover subcontracted hauliers and employees who drive their own cars?
The standard distinguishes what you can control from what you can influence, and expects you to address both within your scope. For subcontractors and owner-drivers that usually means requirements in contracts, verification of licences, vehicles and hours, and their incidents in your register. The scope statement must say where your influence ends.
What are the RTS performance factors, and do we have to measure all of them?
Clause 6.3 describes three kinds: risk exposure factors such as distance travelled, final safety outcome factors such as deaths and serious injuries, and intermediate safety outcome factors such as safe speed, driver fitness, vehicle safety and journey planning. You identify the factors relevant to your organisation and manage those on evidence; a warehouse fleet and a coach operator will choose differently.
Is ISO 39001 certification mandatory?
No law requires it in general, although principals in oil and gas, mining, utilities and public transport, some tenders and some insurers ask for an audited road traffic safety system. Many organisations implement it with no external demand at all, because road crashes are their largest and most expensive safety risk.
Keep exploring
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The complete guide
Everything on ISO 39001
Start with the ISO 39001 page, or go straight to the guide you need.
On the ISO 39001 page
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